headed up the highway with my hubby

by the time you read this, this giant pile of clothes (which, for the record, took me like an hour+ to narrow down to only this pile)

me and my driver, aka the hubs, will be burning up the asphalt, heading from GA to NC for a much needed weekend away!!

we'll also be hanging with 2 of my besties for a raucous weekend of outdoor music and lots of vino and hopefully NOT a lot of headaches and pains ;)

we have more junk food packed for one 6 hour roadtrip than any two sane adults should...BUT a good raodtrip is defined by the snacks, right??

hence the twizzlers. the swedish fish. the pringles. the combos (pizza pretzel, thank you very much). the chex mix. the NASTY salt & vinegar chips that i will NOT be partaking in. plus all the cookies we bought to share with our friends when we get there.

and coke zeroes to drink. because if you're gonna give yourself a mobile crap coma...you don't want to waste calories on the beverages.

i'll be back monday, hopefully with LOTS of fun stories...if not, i'll at least show you the bracelets i'll be wearing each day!

have a great one friends!

sunny yellow summer treats

 when the sun is shining and summer is in full swing....is there anything better than yellow?

for the past 2 nights, my dessert has been my most favorite thing EVER. and for once...it's not candy or baked goods.

it's peaches. JUST peaches.

with a little sprinkle of sugar. cuz at first it's crunchy, but then it melts into the peaches and makes a super sweet syrup that coats the fruit...and sometimes, there's enough syrup to drink at the end.

it's like the milk left over at the end of a bowl of cereal....but a bazillion times more awesome. that milk is like mud water compared to this.

being from the peach state itself...i'm totally a peach snob. i hardly ever get the teeny little fruits that show up in stores at the beginning of the season. they aren't good enough.

but when i can smell the sweet nectar coming from the giant mound of peaches chilling in the produce section?? IT. IS. ON.

did you know that peaches HAVE to have a certain number of cool nights during their growing season to be good? the dip in temps at night boosts sugar production, making them super sweet.

and you can tell a ripe peach by smelling where the stem would attach? it should smell like peaches.

in case you were wondering...my extensive peach knowledge is NOT how i managed to snag a husband. he doesn't even like peaches. 


but if i needed to pick up a dude in an orchard? it would be ON.

also, totally finally spent my old navy groupon today (with 3 days to spare, thank you very much!) on this awesome gingham shirt. too bad it's 9 billion degrees here until october, or i'd rock it right now.

LOVE the yellow, love the rolled sleeves, can't wait to wear it with boots and skinnies in full ellie mae style this fall...with some funky accessories to counteract my complete transition to not-so-beverly hillbilly.

anyone else got some favorite yellow beauties lately?

working my fingers to the bone

okay...maybe "working" isn't really the right word, since it's more like "passing the time chilling on my couch watching tv shows recorded on the dvr"....but working sounds better.

first up, 2/3 of my sister's birthday present! those honestly wtf girls are ALWAYS on their game, and getting me on MY game as a result. i whipped up the ubiquitous (SAT alert!!) hex nut bracelet, with some brown leather lacing, and just a few nuts for my daintier jewelry loving sis. we DEFINITELY differ in that respect ;)

i also used this tutorial for the wrapped bracelet...but the hobby lobby had no "waxed linen cord", so i busted into my trusty stash of embroidery thread. took AGES to wrap the dang thing...but she loved it. so that was good =)

got bored one afternoon last week and did this in about 20 minutes. sometimes...the beads speak to me. in a "i have to wait and figure out what to make with them" way....NOT in a "i've been sniffing too much glue and i've started to lose it" way.

i think it looks pretty antro-esque...and i LOVE it paired with navy or darker magenta.

and i partially conquered my nemesis the stretchy cord. that clear stuff is GREAT for making bracelets with no clasps...but OH MY GOSH if you have sweaty hands you will end up cursing those teeny filaments from here to kingdom come. and probably restring the same damn thing 15 times.

but eventually it will look good. and then your mom will try to steal it.

so you have to promise to make her one of her own so she won't.

is it wrong to plan my days around trips to the craft store, and blocking out time to make bracelets?? cuz that's TOTALLY happening at casa de hales.

she's always been my favorite

you see these 2 girls?

they grew up to be these 2 girls.

and today, the youngest of those 2 girls turns another year older. she's now the ripe old age....of 24.

i was 4 years, and 13 days old when i officially lost my status as "only child". then i became "big sister".

the only thing i distinctly remember for the first several months of her life was how QUIET i had to be. all the time. seeing as how, to this day, i haven't totally mastered the whole "inside voice" thing...this was QUITE a challenge for toddler hayley.

i also called her stinker until she was 2.

and since then...she's ALWAYS been squirt. i don't know how it started, i was only 6 after all...but since that day, i rarely, if ever call her by her actual name. which is robin. in case you wanted to know.

when she played soccer in middle school and high school? always squirt.

in my phone? squirt.

and no, NO ONE else is allowed to call her that. she doesn't even respond unless it's her beloved sister ;)

when we were younger, up until i went off to college...we fought. like cats and dogs fought. like knockdown, drag out, screaming and hitting fights.  it's because we're too alike in some ways...and they always say no one knows how to push your buttons like a sibling. which is what we did. ALL. THE. TIME.

but 4 years apart, and 4 years of growing put us in a much better place...and now i most definitely consider her my friend, along with being my sister.

in college, when guy friends would comment about the "hot girl" in my photos in my apartment? LOADS of fun telling them it was my 15 year old sister.

but more than being gorgeous (which she totally is, and if i didn't love her i'd hate her for it), this girl is amazing. strong, and hard-headed, and smart in all the ways her sister is not (that would be math and science). 

it's hard to sum up the way you feel about the one person who's seen you at your best and worst, and brought out the best and worst in you. but i do know i love her to death.

so today, i wish my baby sister, the ONLY one who truly gets what it's like to have our parents for parents, and my favorite sibling a VERY happy birthday!!!

she's getting some DIY gifts, so stay tuned for those =)

i bet al gore is pissed they stole his idea

i think we can all agree that hollywood is slowly but surely running out of ideas. like...there is a final destination FIVE coming out. how in the world are there FIVE movies about death coming to kill teens who escape death?? i don't get it.

but sometimes...sometimes i get giddily excited when i see news of a movie being made....

BECAUSE SOMETIMES IT'S FREAKING CAPTAIN PLANET!!!!

i am literally dying a little at the thought of of a live-action CP movie. cuz everyone knows the way to teach people about not littering is not with al gore being boring...but with a bunch of teens with magic rings who summon a superhero...WITH THEIR POWERS COMBINED!

i most definitely always wanted to be Gi, the asian girl...she seemed like the smartest. yes...i was the kid who did not want to be the blonde girl who got attention from the red-headed boy...i wanted to be THE SMART ONE.

it's no wonder i didn't get kissed til i was 19.

also, did you know levar burton was the black kid?? i totally wikipedia-ed that ish yesterday.

i feel bad for whoever has to be ma-ti, the kid from south america. because first off...his power totally sucked. no controlling the ocean or the wind or the earth...he had "heart". so sometimes he could talk to animals or some nonsense. BOOOOORRRRRIIIINNNGGGG. at least he had a monkey, that was pretty cool.

and yes...i apologize for getting the captain planet theme song stuck in your head...cuz i KNOW it's there. cuz he's our hero...he'll take pollution down to zero.

it's kinda awesome being the hated neighbor

here in the south, summer storms are no new thing. usually every few days, some big thunderstorm rolls through, dumping rain, rattling windows with loud booms, and then moving on in 20 minutes or so.

same thing happened yesterday...except with ONE minor difference.

that would be a giant tree from our backyard. in the street.

can you see the black spot on the transformer? that's when it blew, and made our house flash green, which was the CRAZIEST thing ever.

that? that would be the power line said tree snapped off the top of, when it snatched all the lines down into the street too.

that? that is our neighbor's power meter...RIPPED OFF HIS HOUSE. ooopsies!

the bright spot in this whole debacle?? we have a corner lot. so OUR power lines from the main line come from the back of the house. sooo.....our power was back on in about 90 minutes! everyone else on our block had to wait for them to take the broken pole down, put the new one up, and run the new lines....plus you know, neighbor's busted up box.

oopsies =)

beating the heat with new bling

you see that?? the "feels like"?? that's HOT. even for this georgia girl....103? HOT.

so i've been keeping my pretty little red head indoors, enjoying the AC.

BUT just enjoying the AC gets boring...so of course, i've been doing a little crafting. i have a set of silver bangles i wore for my friend's indian wedding...but the plain bangles were turning from bright fake silver to tarnished fake silver.

so they're perfect candidates for a little jazz.

i took a rhinestone strand and pried off a section, and glued them to the bangle.

and yes, that's my crafting stash on the ottoman...i MAY have a problem buying beads and chains and embroidery thread.

after about 20 minutes of wrapping the bracelet tightly with embroidery thread, and glueing the ends down,

i now have these to little lovelies! they're really thin and delicate, which will make them awesome for throwing on with a ton of other bracelets and my new rose gold watch =)

i still have 2 to go, i'm thinking maybe a blue/green, and an orange? or maybe pink.

and i might be planning on buying some black rhinestones for a whole other look....

anyone done any fun DIY lately??

i wish i got spoiled like this ALL the time!

now that i'm 2 full days into my 28th year...it's starting to feel normal.

oh, who am i kidding....once you get past that magical "hey, i'm 21 and don't have to worry about the po-po crashing my house parties and arresting all my friends" birthday....they all sorta feel the same. they're fun, you get presents, you get cake...but it's not all "OMG, i'm 28!! holllllaaaaaa!!".

plus, now i have to stop calling the hubs grandpa, since he's now once again only a year older than me, instead of 2. oh wells.

guess i'll have to take solace in the fact that i got myself lots of new fun stuff for getting old(er).

first off...i was totally obsessed with my outfit for lunch with my fam. it hit me randomly friday night that the navy stripes might look cute with the yellow floral...LOVE. IT. i'm already contemplating other color/pattern mixes, plus figuring out what will go with my coral striped cardigan that's exactly the same.

this year, mom called me and said she hadn't bought me anything for my birthday. at first i was all "say wha dear mother?? i'm your first born child...you should TOTALLY be showering me with gifts that you've lovingly thought of for months!"

but then she said we were going shopping instead, and i totally forgave her =)

we found these 3 tops, i LOVE them, and they're all so different from things i already have in my closet. plus, the purple has these straps under the crochet part that will hide my bra straps, so i don't have to die in a strapless bra in the middle of the summer. cuz that sucks.

these 3 purple/blue tanks were snagged from the clearance rack at target. mom was all "i do appreciate you trying to find a deal....but we don't HAVE to shop on the clearance rack!". oh mom...you know i love a bargain, even if someone else is paying. plus, everyone knows paying less for things means YOU GET MORE THINGS. and i'm all about that.

i love this dress. love. but i think i'll love it even more in about3 months when it's cooler out...cuz i am already dying at the thought of wearing it with black tights, brown boots and a cognac leather jacket. IT WILL BE AMAZING.

it will also probably get worn asap with black wedges. cuz that's how that dress rolls. by being multi-seasonal.

these sandals are so super cute, and have magic powers....see, they DON'T make my freakishly long toes look freakishly long. it's a good time had by all.

now, the mama isn't the only one spoiling me. the hubs of course got in on the action. all these pictures? taken with my sweet new fujifilm camera.

which i can drop and not break. and freeze and not break. and drop in the pool and NOT. BREAK.

it's basically the perfect camera for klutzy girls like me. he does know his wife pretty well. i gotta get used to what all the settings and buttons and lights mean...but it's nice to not have to rely on my phone.

especially since i had to get a new one. because i dropped it in the pool. klutzy i tell ya.

oh yeah, and meet my new best friend. her name is rosie.

okay, i totally did not ACTUALLY name my new rose gold fossil watch. but i do love her. and yes, she's a her....she's ROSE gold, that's not a dude color. she's perfectly chunky, and she's perfect on my arm with all my other bracelets.  might see about getting one more link, just to make her a little looser.

i hope you all had a great weekend too!!

loving vintage for my last day at 27

if there's one thing i love...it's jewelry. the understated, classic kind. the kind with memories attached. of course the kind i make myself. and lately...the kind that's either old, or looks like it ought to be.

this was my necklace pairing yesterday. the colored necklace i snagged from my mom, who had it at home in with a big box of my aunt's jewelry that she got when my aunt carolyn passed away. let's be honest...mama is NOT gonna be rocking this particular piece of neckware. but me? i LOVE it, and it looks so different from  anything i've ever seen! the gold necklace mama bought me a few weeks ago at an antique store...again, love rocking things no one else has!

and these chunky beauties came home with me from a trip to forever 21 a few weeks ago. when i wore the triple stone one, i got more compliments than i think i ever have just wearing something around! it's so pretty, and i think it'll be awesome this winter too. the big stone necklace is actually a dark burgundy/brown stone...haven't figured out what to wear it will, but i'm sure i will =)

mom is taking me shopping this afternoon for my birthday, so i'm hoping i'll find some vintagey bling...and maybe i'll get some tomorrow to share with you monday, as an old lady ;)

i'm gonna go ahead and have the t-shirt made

proclaiming my status as worst blogger ever. (or at least worst blogger that lives in my house. cuz my dogs are ALWAYS up on their game).

i worked for 3 days last week and didn't have much to say.

then i spent the weekend hanging with friends and not taking pictures or thinking about what to blog next.

then my beloved phone got dropped in the pool (score one for the universe and its HILARIOUS sense of humor...first time in 10 years anything has ever happened to my lifeline!)

luckily new phone should be here by this afternoon....i'm SUPER stoked about the unintentional upgrade. NOT so stoked about the $99 it cost, plus the fact that i have to START OVER ON ANGRY BIRDS!!!

legit, more than a little irate.

BUT a new phone means i can take pictures of the latest pretties to come out of my "studio" (cuz that sounds better than living room couch right?!).

also, i'm totally getting old this weekend. so i'm sure i'll tell you all about that.

and to make sure you don't leave without a little practical advice...if your dog is also a computer hacker and does this to your laptop...

you just have to hit ctrl+alt+down arrow to fix it.

in case you were wondering =)